Loose Skin after Weight Loss

Loose skin after weight loss is a common effect after a major weight loss transformation. The moment it comes to extra flab around your stomach, the fat that accumulates stretches your skin to be very tight, like a fully or an over inflated balloon.

In the course of time, your skin weakens and loses elasticity then your abdominal muscles and connective muscles which are also called inner girdle weaken; responsible for the tightness or the looseness of your abdomen.

Since skin has t stretch as to move as you make your way from one point to another, row an as you are will have the experience after a weight loss activity. Different layers of the skin are have different types of cells and even though the outer part of your skin are constantly being lost and replaced with new ones, the skin under the epidermis are a bit more permanent.

The layers of the skin called the dermis and sub-dermis are made up of elastic connective fibers, blood vessels and all types of components that can be stretched or contracted based on the how they are treated. When you lose weight suddenly, the elastic components are not only loose but also lose the fat components that help keep them stretched out.

Loose Skin after Weight Loss

Does Loose Skin after Weight Loss go away? The ability of your skin to bounce back and contract to the initial size depends on several factors like the quality of your skin tone at the baseline, your age, the genetic factors, the amount of weight you put on and the amount of weight that you lost, sun exposure and lifestyle factors like smoking.

Abrupt and huge weight loss shocks the body and your entire system in such a way that your skin elasticity does not adequate time to your new shape. As a result, this leads to the excess stretched skin sagging.

Mentally, loose skin can lead to embarrassment and lack of satisfaction about your personal image and the self-esteem. The accomplishment of losing about 50 or more pounds of weight is at times diminished by since all your efforts is not reflected in your excess skin.

Apart from being harmful to your self-esteem, the loose skin can be very uncomfortable. Sweat can get trapped and chaffing is likely to occur. This is likely to spur irritation and at times rashes on your body. What is more is that it can even be a hindrance to more weight loss and the quality of life.

In addition, you may not be able to wear the clothes you would like to or be able to perform physical activities you would wish to because of the excess skin. To help curb this, compression clothing is at times useful to help keep the extra skin from stretching farther whey u run or walk around.

How much Weight Loss causes Loose Skin?

Extreme Weight Loss

When you engage in activities that help you to loose excessive amount of fat, you in most cases do not keep in mind the resulting effect of this. “It is frustrating to patients who have put all their commitment to weight loss journey and new bodies be left with extra skin that does not reflect the effort”, Dr. Jason B. Litchen, MD a plastic surgeon in Columbus OH.

Firming Loose Skin

In as much compressing the use of compressing garments can help a great deal to firm lose weight, it is not an easy task as such. It is not straight forward that you will get back to your initial or original shape that you aim at.

Extreme/ Dramatic/ Fast Weight Loss

Extreme and sudden loss of weight exerts a lot of pressure and force on the skin, which is an organ of the body, and therefore achieving the initial size of skin is such a hard task that you cannot achieve once at one instance.

Belly

In men you are likely to get a loosened skin around your belly if you lose about 10 percent of your body fat. In women on the other hand, you are likely to get loose belly skin when you lose 20 percent of your belly fat. You might consider going for a surgery to fix this issue if at all physical exercise and natural methods don’t seem to be of any help to you.

Backside

Toning and strengthening exercises can increase the muscle mass, filling and tightening the area found to have loose skin. For example the buttocks region has large muscle groups that respond very well to particular exercises.

The strengthening exercises can include the ones like squat or leg lift as well as activities like walking, most importantly up and down hills. A bent knee leg lift while lying on your stomach will help isolate the buttocks thereby allowing them to increase in muscle contraction. Other functional exercises like biking, running, running and stair machines that increase hear rate, burning excess fat while increasing muscle tone can help in this venture.

Thighs

When you are putting o excess weight, your skin is likely to stretch much in order to accommodate the excess. In as much as the skin is elastic, it might lose its bounce and sag in loose folds if it too far and quickly. [All Women Stalk health and lifestyle website].

If at all in the long end you result in having excess skin on your thighs there are ways that you could approach in order to firm you skin to make sure that you can flaunt your new firm legs with a lot of confidence.

Arms

Major weight loss can really be lifesaving. By reducing excess fat, you not only alleviate excess strain on your joints but also lower the associated risks of various chronic disease like heart diseases and some types of cancers. To caution though, when you lose a lot of weight, you are likely to develop loose skin once you hit your target goal on all areas including your arms.

A few lifestyle activities and tweaks can help reduce this look of loose skin on your arms but more severe loose skin might necessitate the involvement of surgeries to remove the excess skin completely. The rate at which you lose weight determines and affects how your skin looks when you reach your goal and target weight.

Chest

The chest or the breast region of your body is basically made up of adipose or fatty tissue. When you have lost some weight, your body burns excess fat for energy. This removal of fat will cause stretched skin to sag over many areas of your body including your breasts.

One of the best methods to tighten up any area of your body is to improve muscle tone. Your chest is normally controlled by pectoral muscles. Exercises that target these group of muscles should pull in tissue and then help to firm your breasts.

Face

The facial skin shows signs of excess skin by various appearances like sagging jowls neck and cheeks. Slow weight loss not only helps you avoid this problem but also increases your chances of keeping the weight off.

In case you are young, the skin is basically better in terms of tone and the skin tends to tighten back with the passage of time. On the contrary if you are older, the tone of your skin is poor and therefore a facelift will be most appropriate to correct the problem.

How to Tighten Loose Skin after Pregnancy

Baby Fat

To carry out this, always approach it slowly. If you do it in a hurry and faster, you are likely to lose both your fat and muscle. Muscles not only help to keep your skin in shape but also gives you a tight, toned and the lean shape that you want.

Get vitamin C supplementation: it is essential as it helps in the formation of collagen and elastin. Aging and exposure to sunlight depletes the amount of vitamin C in your body while consumption builds this. Studies suggest that women should consume at least 75 milligrams of vitamin C daily.

Apart from that, vitamin E is also crucial. It acts as an antioxidant in your body. Reactive molecules called radicals in your body are released when your skin is exposed to sunlight and other environmental stressors. Vitamin E neutralizes the radicals before they harm the skin cells and other skin’s barriers.

On the other hand, you could engage in weight train: this encourages you to put on more muscles than fat. The more muscle you put on, the more calories and fat you are likely to burn in the long run. Lifting weights will help to improve your body composition i.e. the percentage of fat to muscle and by improving your body composition, you will reduce fat not just along your waist and underneath loose skin but all over your body.

Sagging Belly

The sagging of the belly is called a pregnancy pouch and occurs some time after pregnancy. There is nothing to get worried about the occurrence of this. The abdomen stretches during the nine months of pregnancy to accommodate the baby. To tighten this, there various approaches that you could undertake to help in this:

First of all, increase your water intake; water is an elixir for your body. It does not only hydrates your skin but also makes it more elastic. It helps to burn the calories more efficiently and also is a great way to keep your skin healthy and tight.

Apart from that, put into consideration breastfeeding your baby; it helps to transform excess calories in your body into milk for the baby, helping you to lose the excess fat. It is also factual that a breastfeeding mum loses weight faster than a non-breastfeeding mum.

Similarly, do more exercise; this should however start when you get a go ahead from your doctor to do so. You can start with daily walking or postpartum yoga. Then, you could start on rigorous exercise like aerobics or cardio which will work on your abdomen. Exercise also helps in strengthening your stomach muscles and burning calories.

Besides, also consume a lot of proteins; they contain the component collagen that help to firm your skin. Proteins intake should depend on your weight and the extent of physical activity that you engage in. on an average, you should consume about 50 grams of protein at a go.

You could also exfoliate your skin; you could use an exfoliating scrub any time that you take a shower. It helps to increase blood circulation by enhancing flow of blood to the area. It also creates new healthy and more elastic skin.

Stretched Skin

To help normalize stretched skin,

First of all try the use of lotions and massage: There are plenty of the creams and lotions that are available in the market and they contain collagen as well as vitamin E, C, A and K. apply such lotions on your skin as t aids its tightening after your pregnancy. You can also massage with the lotion to improve blood flow. Do this twice a day for best results to come by.

Similarly, you could keep a healthy mind: keeping a calm mind is of great value. Try ensure that you are relaxed and be patient with yourself. Practice deep breathing, listen to music and enjoy the outdoor activities as much as you can.

You could also take up strength training: this helps to stimulate muscular contraction which helps to build strength. It also improves your body composition and reduces fat all over the body.

How to Tighten Loose Skin after Weight Loss

1. Without Surgery/ Naturally/ At Home/ Remedies

Tightening Cream

The best skin tightening cream is the one that gives your skin an ample time and environment to grow properly without losing its quality. The type of cream you use should be able to protect you from the harsh effects of the sun. Apart from that, it should be able provide you with antioxidants that protect your body from the radicals in your body. It therefore should contain vitamins like vitamin A and E among other vitamins that protective minerals to our bodies.

Essential Oils/ Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is a natural moisturizer and an antibacterial agent. It therefore soothes the skin. It is often used in commercial and in DIY body lotions although it can also be used independently without being mixed with other agents. A mixture with other oils like jojoba oil and avocado oil is a suitable combination that can give your skin more life and elasticity.

Diet/ Enough Protein

Proteins are rich in the component collagen and elastin that help to firm your skin. Proteins intake should depend on your weight and the extent of physical activity that you engage in. therefore on an average, you should consume about 50 grams of protein at a go. Ensure you reduce and cut down on the amount of fat and calories that you take from time to time.

Keep Fit/ Exercise/ Build Muscle

According to Cedric Bryant, chief officer for the American Council on Exercise says that aerobics burn fat but strength training creates a layer of muscle underneath your skin thus helping it to appear tighter. Perform strength training exercises two or more times a week on nonconsecutive days.

Water

It helps to hydrate the skin and make it more elastic. Your body is more efficient as well with more water in the system. This can help burn fat more easily and reduce the water retention in your belly.

Loose Weight Slowly and at a Reasonable Pace

Your skin often needs more time to react to a major weight loss. Be kind and patient with your body in your venture to lose weight. Sudden and quick weight loss exerts a lot of pressure on your body and you might end up having a lot of skin sagging.

2. Surgery to get Rid of Loose Skin after Weight Loss

Cost

The cost of a surgery varies and has been different in different years. The cost also is based on the type of procedure that is undertaken. The surgeon carrying out the procedure also matter. Some charge more compared to others.

For instance, upper arm lift to remove sagging skin in 2007 was charged about 3574 dollars. The thigh lift again in the year 2007 was done at a cost of around 4464 dollars where about 8000 surgeries were done. The costs since then keep on changing with the prevailing environment.

Reconstructive Surgery

This particular surgery can include body contouring where extra fat and sagging skin are removed, then the shape of the underlying tissue restored to normal. The result is a boy with smoother contours.

Dermatologist

These are skin specialists who are able to check and handle almost all the skin conditions and abnormalities. Visiting one is a step that could give you a hint on what to do. You would get an idea on what works for you; surgery or natural methods to help eliminate the sagging skin.

Tummy Tuck

According to the American society of plastic surgeons, tummy tuck is a procedure that is also known as abdominoplasty. It involves removal of excess fat and skin, and in most cases, restores the weakened or separated muscles creating an abdominal profile that is smoother and firmer.

Tummy tuck is not a substitute to weight loss procedure or an appropriate exercise program. In as much as the results in this case are permanent, the positive outcome can be diminished by significant fluctuations in your weight.

Tummy tuck cannot correct stretch marks, although these may be removed or somewhat improved if they are located on the areas of excess skin that will be subjected to the surgery in the course of the procedure.

How to Avoid Loose Skin after Weight Loss

The first thing that you have to consider is go slow. When you lose weight too quickly, you may end up losing more muscle than the targeted fat. Muscle acts as a supportive tissue that helps support the skin on your body.

Similarly, you should also diet appropriately during the weight loss program; to be specific, you should ensure that the intake of vitamin C during this time s at optimal level. It is good for the production of collagen and it improves the appearance of your skin. Also, food that are rich in linoleic acid, a type of fat found in chicken, nuts, seeds and vegetable oils helps to support better the skin strength and structure.

Moisturize Prevent Loose Skin during Weight Loss

Use moisturizer that contains vitamin E in it, so that your skin will stay moisturized as this allows for new skin cells to grow. Moisturizing also helps to prevent wrinkles from developing. You would prefer the use of natural moisturizing agents that are readily available like coconut oil.

1 Comment

Thanks for the suggestions shared on your own blog. Yet another thing I would like to talk about is that fat loss is not supposed to be about going on a dietary fad and trying to get rid of as much weight as possible in a few days. The most effective way in losing weight is by acquiring it bit by bit and following some basic ideas which can allow you to make the most out of your attempt to lose weight. You may realize and be following many of these tips, however reinforcing information never hurts.